Here are my pics from our two trips -

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Patty: WOW!!! Your pix are stunning. I LOVE the wildlife shots. I assume you didn't pick up a wild wombat! Were you at a wildlife park? Where was that? And was that an albino kangaroo in the wild???

Is there someplace you'd recommend to stay at (or near) Cradle Mountain?

Thanks so much for sharing the pix!!! I'm getting excited!!!

Thanks! Some of the pics were taken at sanctuaries and others were in the wild. I tried to caption where they were taken. The first link has pics from http://trowunna.com.au/ and http://www.devilsatcradle.com/ and pics taken in the wild at Narawntapu, Cradle and Warrawee. The second link has pics from http://bonorong.com.au/ and pics taken in the wild on Bruny Island and in the Huon Valley. The albino wallabies can be found near Adventure Bay on Bruny Island. There were many albinos there.

We stayed in a cabin at http://www.cradlehighlander.com.au/ which I can recommend. http://www.cradlemountainlodge.com.au/ also looked nice and is the closest, most convenient to trails.

We'd been told the same about Cradle Mountain Songdoc, so yes, the odds are against you. We got lucky - two back-to-back sunny days at Cradle Mountain (in November).

Not so lucky when we visited the St Lake Clair side of Cradle Mountain though - rain, rain, rain (in March).

I’ve now learned that we’ll be limited to (10) nights – because we plan to use frequent flyer miles – and there are no flights available after Dec. 4th. So … with all your input--and a bit of research on my own--I’ve put together a couple of tentative itineraries and would love to get your expert opinions.

As a reminder … our interests are primarily scenery, natural beauty, and nature walks/moderate hikes. No interest in wineries. (We don’t drink—but did have a wonderful lunch at a winery in Tuscany in a stunning location!)

OPTION #1:

Mon., Nov. 24th – fly from Brisbane to Launceston or Hobart (if we start with the East Coast, the drive is about the same distance)

(2 nights) East Coast near Freycinet –Bicheno? Swansea? Coles Bay?)
Or ???

Launceston (1 night) Visit Cataract Gorge

drive to Stanley (2:43)

Stanley (2 nights) climb the Nut; possible river cruise/guided nature walk; possible cruise to the seals

2 nights Cradle Mountain

Strahan (2 or how many nights? Which river cruise?)

Drive Strahan to Hobart (4 hours) OR – take one night from Strahan – and stay 1 night somewhere between Strahan and Hobart?

Overnight in Hobart (1 nt)
Fly out of Hobart Dec. 4th

OPTION #2 (eliminate the east coast)

Fly into Launceston (1 night) Visit Cataract Gorge
(it would cost almost $300 more for the two of us to fly into Devonport—or we would do that.)

drive to Stanley (2:43)

Stanley (2 nights) climb the Nut; possible river cruise/guided nature walk; possible cruise to the seals

3 nights Cradle Mountain

Strahan (2 or how many nights? Which river cruise?)

Drive Strahan to Hobart – OR – take one night from someplace else (where?) and stay 1 night somewhere between Strahan and Hobart?

Overnight in Hobart (1 or 2 nts)
(if 2 nights, visit Bonorong wildlife sanctuary)

Fly out of Hobart Dec. 4th

Thanks SO much for all your help!!!!

I've become a big fan of Launceston, after initially not being that keen on it. The Gorge is great and there are quite a few walks there.

Visit the Tamar Island bird sanctuary with stunning views of the Tamar river. http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/file.aspx?id=19983

I liked Hotel Charles in Launceston.

Also, as I mentioned above about an hour's drive from Launceston, is Narawntapu National Park.

I'd suggest only one night in Stanley, unless you want to do one of the longer walks in Rocky Cape National Park. Ditto for Strahan, it's my least favourite place to stay in Tasmania. I'd have an overnight at Lake St Clair on the way to Hobart, there are great cabins:

http://www.lakestclairlodge.com.au/

Susan7 -- Thanks so much. This sounds like some great suggestions. I like the idea of the bird sanctuary, Narawntapu National Park, and an overnight in Lake St. Claire.

I'm thinking if we take a night away from Strahan and a night away from Stanley, we could spend a night near Narawntapu National Park--so we'd be there at dusk for the best wildlife spotting. We could spend the other night at Lake St. Claire.

I prefer staying more than one night in places--but there's so much to see, this might be the best solution. Our only 2-night stays would be the east coast and Cradle Mountain.

Don't miss the penguin tour at Stanley.

There isn't much in terms of accommodations right near Narawntapu except camping in the park. We stayed here http://www.sailsonportsorell.com.au/ which was about a 20 min drive away.

Melnq8:
We're not sure about the penguins because we had the most incredible penguin experience--and I'm not sure anything else would even come close. We went to Phillp Island (as a day trip from Melbourne) and we probably saw 1,000 or more penguins close enough to touch! It was INCREDIBLE -- especially as it was mating season--and they weren't shy!!! OMG.

Patty: I wonder if, after a day in Launceston, it might make more sense of us to leave Narawntapu after our walk at dusk and continue on to overnight in Devonport or Burnie.

Since there have been no comments about the proposed itineraries, I'm guessing they seem to work. I'm leaning toward including the east coast.

Thanks, again!

Strange as it seems, we are spending Christmas in Stanley and a total of 5 days. The north is the part of Tassie we really haven't seen, so we're starting there - Mel,go to the penguins there or the Low Head Penguins in the Tamar Valley? Songdoc, we've done the Gordon River cruise out of Strahan - in winter, and it was spectacular. I think we only spent one night there - then back to Hobart. No real place to stay in between. If you have enough time, absolutely go to Bonorong.

Long time no see oliverandharry!

We'd planned to take a penguin tour in Bicheno, but cancelled due to the incredibly crappy weather. We got a second chance while in Stanley, where we booked with Wilderness to West Coast - we saw several Fairy penguins, some right at our feet, but nothing near the numbers that Songdoc saw at Phillip Island.

I'm not familiar with Low Head Penguins in the Tamar Valley.

You could easily do a day trip from Launceston to Narawntapu. The wombats come to feed on old pastures right near the car park at all times of the day, so it's not essential to visit at dusk.

Burnie would be my pick of those two places. It has an art deco architecture trail.

Just a correction, there is a place to stay between Strahan and Hobart. The other end of the Overland Trail, Lake St Clair. See cabin information above.

More places to see penguins http://www.think-tasmania.com/little...n-in-tasmania/

Thanks so much!!!
I feel like this is really coming together--thanks to the help I've gotten on this forum.

If you're still finalizing your itinterary, Songdoc, take a look at Bruny Island south of Hobart and the Huon Valley. We did a wonderful day trip down there with Bruny Island cruises. I'm coming up on trip #5 and there's still so much to see!

Thanks so much oliverandharry--and everyone else who is helping!!

Here’s my latest revised itinerary. The numbers in parentheses are the estimated length of the drive according to a website. Of course, I should probably multiply these times by a factor of at least three because I’m an avid photographer. It took me 8 hours to drive a “two-hour” section of the Great Ocean Road!

My question is whether it’s worth the almost-3-hour drive to spend one night in Stanley. If I take that night away—where you you suggest that I add it?

Thoughts??? Thanks SO much!!!

Mon., Nov. 24th – fly from Brisbane to Hobart
BNE 9:10AM – nonstop – Hobart 1 PM

East Coast near Freycinet –Bicheno? Swansea? Coles Bay?) (2:25)
(2 nights)

Launceston (2:30 via Campbell Town; 3:30 via Scottsdale) (1 night) Visit Cataract Gorge; the Tamar Island bird sanctuary; Narawntapu National Park

(Question: do you recommend one of the referenced routes above -- over the other?)

drive to Stanley (2:43)

Stanley (1 night) climb the Nut; possible river cruise/guided nature walk;

(2:17) to Cradle Mountain 2 nights

Strahan (1 night) (2:06)

Drive Strahan to Lake Claire (1) night

(2:30 to Hobart)

Overnight in Hobart (2 nt)
Visit bonorong wildlife park and Bruny Island

Looking forward to your thoughts!!!

As I think of it, we probably did two nights in Strahan because of the timing of the Gordon River cruises - you may want to check that. Any chance one of your Hobart days is a Saturday? Wonderful street market in Salamanca Place every weekend - it's one of the hits of our trips. I don't know I'd go to Stanley for only 1 night - it's a ways. We are staying at an eco-resort on the beach and wanted to stay put over Christmas. On the east coast you will find more in Swansea than in Bicheno, although we like the nature park there.

Thanks so much for the great info and suggestions. Unfortunately, there's no chance of a Saturday in Hobart, and we love street markets. Saturday will be right in the middle of our ten-day loop. But last year, we got to go to the incredible Eumundi market on the Sunshine Coast.

I'm leaning heavily toward skipping Stanley -- unless I get feedback that it should not be missed. I don't love driving -- and we'll already be doing quite a bit of it.

By adding a night to Strahan, we can arrive late in the day; do the cruise the following day; and leave the next morning. That sounds like a good plan!!!

Does anyone disagree???

Sounds like a good plan to me Songdoc.